I've never heard of a retinoidthat also contained an antibiotic, but anything is possible. There's a lot of combination therapy topicals out there (Epiduo, etc.). But yeah, the majority of topicals have the potential to cause an initial breakout. Not everyone experiences the initial breakout, but for those prone to it, it is hard to escape.

4 minutes ago, DeLovely said:

I've never heard of a retinoidthat also contained an antibiotic, but anything is possible. There's a lot of combination therapy topicals out there (Epiduo, etc.). But yeah, the majority of topicals have the potential to cause an initial breakout. Not everyone experiences the initial breakout, but for those prone to it, it is hard to escape.

Hi Delovely, I've copied and pasted from the information site:
About isotretinoin gel
Type of medicine A rub-on (topical) retinoid
Used for Mild-to-moderate acne
Also called Isotrex; Isotrexin (contains isotretinoin and erythromycin)
Available as Gel

Ahhh...I see erythromycin is also an ingredient...cool!

My son is also using a retinoid (tretinoin cream), and a separate antibiotic gel (clindamycin) for his bacne, plus oral antibiotics (minocycline) and the Acne.Org Regimen. He experienced the initial breakout from the retinoidand the antibiotics did not prevent it. Of course, maybe it would have been way worse without them!! (He's clear now...just got clear after weeks of treatment)So yeah, while this approach should work in theory, in practice, it does not prevent the IB for everyone, though may minimize it.